Chapter 72
“I should get back to sleep. Goodnight, Madam.”
Lin Furuo looked down at her phone, her fingers flying across the screen as she replied to a message from a subordinate. She then picked up her laptop from the balcony and headed back to her room.
Bai Wan was left alone on the small balcony. She lowered her eyes, slowly loosening her clenched fist; her sweat-soaked palm felt cool in the night breeze.
She knew. Of course, she knew.
She walked forward and stood by the railing. In the garden below, a subtle fragrance drifted; clusters of flowers were in full bloom, their scent swirling around her in the wind. Bathed in the floral aroma, her gaze fell, taking in everything in the garden. From this height, she could see everything below with perfect clarity.
Nothing could stay hidden.
Her frantically beating heart felt as if it were being squeezed by someone; a sense of suffocation submerged her.
It must be for this similar face… After all, among so many Omegas, only she looks the most like Su Changyin.
Bai Wan stood with her eyes closed for a long time. When she finally turned to go back inside, she seemed to physically stir the fragrances surrounding her, sending them drifting away.
Yan Nanjue slept deeply, only waking when the System forcibly called her. Lack of sleep left her brain groggy; she lay in bed with her eyes shut for a long while before sitting up under the System’s nagging. She washed up, changed, and went downstairs.
She ran into Lin Furuo on the way down, and the two entered the dining room one after the other. Inside, Lin Furuo informed her: “The surgery time is set. Pre-op usually requires three to seven days of observation. Miss Qingzhi is stable, but it’s only temporary. To avoid any unexpected complications, we’ve scheduled the surgery as early as possible.”
“Mm.” Yan Nanjue nodded slightly, look up as she heard footsteps. Her eyes held a calm, cold light.
Bai Wan had also woken up. Her long hair was loose, her face expressionless, and a heavy, cold aura surrounded her. The dark circles under her eyes, caused by chronic sleep loss, weren’t something a single nap could fix. It seemed Lin Furuo was the only one who had actually slept well last night.
Seeing Bai Wan enter, Lin Furuo stopped talking about the medical details and silently enjoyed the boss’s luxurious breakfast. All three at the table were lost in their own thoughts, so the meal passed in total silence.
After breakfast, Yan Nanjue went to the hospital. Bai Qingzhi was awake and looked happy to see her, waving her hand forcefully as if wanting her to come in and talk. Yan Nanjue stopped at the ICU door, her heart feeling heavy. She didn’t like scenes like this. Then again, who actually likes hospitals?
Bai Wan’s voice came from beside her, light and clear like a feather brushing past. “She wants you to go in and talk with her.”
Yan Nanjue’s expression remained aloof. “The person she wants to see most is her sister.”
Bai Wan stared at her face for a few seconds, then looked away in silence. In the end, Yan Nanjue didn’t go in.
Lin Furuo went to negotiate with the hospital staff. When Yan Nanjue stepped away from the ICU, both parties looked toward her. Lin Furuo approached and whispered something in her ear, and the group moved toward the Director’s office.
Bai Wan returned to her private room. She got water from the dispenser, staring blankly at the medical records on the table. When she snapped back to reality, the cup was overflowing, and her hand was drenched in cold liquid. She frowned, her brow filled with irritability and loathing.
…So annoying.
After waiting in the room for nearly an hour, the door was pushed open.
Yan Nanjue sat on the sofa, crossing her long legs with an innate arrogance. Her trouser leg shifted slightly, revealing a delicate ankle. A manila envelope sat on her lap. She raised her hand and let it fall, her slender fingers tapping the paper bag in a slow, elegant rhythm.
Bai Wan’s gaze fell on her hand. Yan Nanjue didn’t say a word, but Bai Wan knew what she meant. She left the water bar and walked to the sofa.
“This is all the information for the surgery, including the heart source.”
Bai Wan lifted her gaze from the envelope to that gorgeous face. She had guessed as much yesterday.
Yan Nanjue asked, “Excited?”
“Her matter is settled. Now, let’s talk about us.”
The VIP room was quiet; Assistant Lin and the other subordinates were guarding the door to prevent anyone from interrupting. Inside, Yan Nanjue’s superior voice rang out, steady and calm, as if telling an interesting story. “The surgery cost is two million, and it took quite a bit of effort to find this heart.”
“Two million,” she repeated with ambiguous meaning. “I am a businesswoman. A losing deal like this shouldn’t be worth my time. The contract stated clearly: three years of your time for thirty years of theirs. But the cost of this heart clearly exceeds the content of that contract.”
Bai Wan stared at her. All her chaotic thoughts solidified under the other woman’s cold gaze, like volcanic magma about to erupt that was suddenly extinguished, leaving only grey-black ash.
Yan Nanjue’s scarlet lips moved. “Have you thought about how you’re going to repay me—Mrs. Yan?”
Her cold, sharp gaze was like a blade, sweeping over Bai Wan inch by inch, as if measuring whether the “merchandise” before her was satisfactory and worth such a high price. The Alpha was telling her plainly: this was another transaction. Just like before, nothing more than a deal.
Yan Nanjue said indifferently, “A person asking for a favor should have the attitude of a person asking for a favor. Show me your sincerity, Bai Wan.”
“Kneel.”
Bai Wan stared at her without blinking. The atmosphere in the room felt as if it had dropped into an ice cellar. The chill seemed to seep through the air into her veins, freezing her blood. The aching pain in her heart subsided momentarily, only to grow back like wild grass. Negative emotions took root, dyeing her mental world pitch black.
A deep-seated hatred grew like a towering tree, its dense branches covering the soil of her heart. She hated her so much her heart bled; she hated her so much her voice turned raspy.
In the darkness, an even greater hatred sprouted. She hated the person before her. She hated Yan Nanjue. For treating her as a substitute, yet doing these things.
Rushing back overnight, travel-worn, with her cuffs even turned out… the first thing she did upon returning was to lose her temper because of Bai Wan’s inability to eat or sleep, and because of this face that had grown thin. Yet, she had worked through the night, pushed aside the business in Country C, and rushed back to the country just for a single phone call.
In the deathly silence, Bai Wan thought: [Read on BaiLianTales]data-index-in-node="41">As expected, it’s still for this face. For that beloved person she couldn’t have.
Was this similar face really that precious? For a face resembling Su Changyin, Yan Nanjue was willing to go to such lengths?
She looked at that loathsome, cold, and beautiful face, and slowly knelt down.
“…Everything. Everything of mine.”
Bai Wan kept her eyes lowered. Her own voice sounded as if every word were soaked in blood.
Yan Nanjue was interested in her body, yet she hadn’t touched her in years. At first, it was because she was disobedient. Later… was it because she felt a substitute wasn’t worthy of her? Perhaps she found her lowly, or perhaps because… Su Changyin.
Looking at the top of the heroine’s black head, Yan Nanjue secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
【System: Great, the OOC value dropped. We’re safe!】
Her eyes lit up. Excellent! This scene existed in the original book too; she had simply copied the original host’s lines.
In the original book, after Bai Qingzhi fell ill, the original host forced the heroine to sign a permanent contract, completely monopolizing her life to ensure this hard-won canary wouldn’t fly away. She wanted to utterly destroy the heroine. The heroine agreed for the sake of her sister, but the original host didn’t keep her promise—it was a punishment she had planned all along. She wanted to sever everything the heroine owned. She didn’t want a person of flesh and blood; she wanted a blank canvas she could paint on.
Though, in the original book, the heroine didn’t kneel…
Her thoughts were interrupted by the System’s voice. 【Wait, hold on, why is…】
【Blackening Value +5】
【Blackening Value +5】
【Blackening Value…】
On the System panel, the numbers representing the Blackening Value kept climbing. The real-time logs were refreshing frantically.
【Current Blackening Value for Bai Wan: 75/100】
The room was deathly silent. Yan Nanjue felt like she had basically died. The System also fell into an unprecedented silence.
Bai Wan remained kneeling on the cold floor. Her long lashes cast a faint shadow over her eyelids, hiding most of her gaze. Her features were submissive, as if she had accepted her fate, yet her aura was mysterious and icy. No one could glimpse her thoughts from her cold face, and no one could get close to her.
After her words fell, no other sound remained in the room.
If the timing weren’t so wrong, Yan Nanjue would have blacked out and fainted on the sofa right then and there.
…What? What just happened?
Yan Nanjue’s fingertips on the envelope were trembling. Her vision was darkening, and it felt like insects were flying in her field of vision. She checked the numbers again and again in disbelief, unable to even care about the heroine in front of her. Her view was filled with crimson warnings and long-unseen red text.
From 33, it had leaped to 75. It had more than doubled.
75… damn 75… why is it 75… what a terrifying number, what a terrifying reality…
She was really going to faint.
【System: Don’t faint! Don’t faint! The heroine is still here! You can’t faint! Hold on! If you faint now, what happens later? The heroine will suspect you, and all your work will be for nothing!】
Yan Nanjue was in a total daze. After working so hard on the mission for so long, she had returned to square one overnight—no, this was even worse than when she first arrived.
“System. I think I’ve gone blind. What about you?”
The System looked at her “I’m about to die” expression. 【I think I have too.】
“Right? My eyes must be malfunctioning.” Just as she finished comforting herself with self-deception, Yan Nanjue caught another glimpse of the bright red number on the panel, and her head began to spin again.
If she fainted now, would the value be back at 33 when she woke up?
【System: Likely not.】
Yan Nanjue’s breathing stopped. Before she could recover from the massive blow, a warm hand unexpectedly gripped her ankle.
The windows and doors were shut tight, and the AC was set very low. Having been inside for so long, her exposed skin had grown cold. The palm that gripped her was warmer than her own, scorching her suddenly.
Bai Wan’s hand encircled her ankle, her fingertips tightening bit by bit, holding her firmly. For a moment, Yan Nanjue felt like a ghost had grabbed her. But the hand was warm. At a time like this, it was terrifying regardless of whether the hand was hot or cold…
Her body gave an uncontrollable shudder. She was so scared she almost kicked out, but fortunately realized who was in front of her—actually, a ghost might have been better.
Bai Wan was still there. She couldn’t reveal a thing about the Blackening Value or the System. No matter how much her mind was reeling or how much she was collapsing internally, she couldn’t show a crack.
Yan Nanjue bit her tongue hard and pinched her palm, using the pain to maintain her “arrogant Alpha” persona. She kept her posture, not pulling her leg away. She lowered her head condescendingly, looking down at the person by her feet.
Bai Wan leaned forward slightly—so close that her breath was faintly hitting Yan Nanjue’s knee. Through the fabric, that patch of skin felt the puff of hot air. Those brilliant amber eyes gazed at her.
“I’ll give you what you want. You give me what I want.”
Yan Nanjue rested her chin on one hand, her white fingertips digging into her black hair. Her eyes shimmered with light. She asked flatly, “Do you know what I want?”
“Me.”
“An absolutely obedient, programmable ‘canary’ Mrs. Yan. Someone you can summon or dismiss at will, who satisfies all your needs, who won’t resist or run away… and who has this beautiful face. That Mrs. Yan.”
Bai Wan said, “I will be her.”
She looked straight at her. Clearly, Yan Nanjue had the upper hand, yet being stared at like that made her feel like she was the one in the passive position. She instinctively swallowed and knit her brows almost imperceptibly, unsure where this illusion came from.
Maybe because Bai Wan was holding her foot? This posture was so strange… having her ankle held like this was genuinely awkward.
From her vantage point, she could see the emotions in Bai Wan’s eyes—they were swirling like a tornado. Yan Nanjue caught a glimpse of deep hatred, thick as ink. But besides the expected hate, there were unfamiliar emotions she couldn’t decipher.
She spaced out for a few seconds. When she snapped back, she uncrossed her legs, freeing her ankle from Bai Wan’s hand. Yan Nanjue reached out, her fingertips pinching Bai Wan’s slender chin.
“Do you know how to satisfy me, Mrs. Yan?”
Bai Wan’s head was forced up. Her throat felt a pulling sensation, like a tightened string that would snap with one more step. If it snaps, let it snap. …It doesn’t matter anymore.
Nothing mattered. She had already gambled away the rest of her life. It was even a “fair” trade. This face, this face… this similar face, in exchange for two lives. Being a substitute—she did it when she didn’t know, and she’d do it now that she did. There was no difference. Whether she was selling her face or selling her face and body, it was all selling; what was the difference? Clinging to a broken, empty shell was meaningless.
If Yan Nanjue didn’t want her to know about the substitute thing, then she would pretend to know nothing and be the perfect substitute.
Bai Wan raised her hand. Her fingertips tangled with a button as she unfastened the first one, revealing an elegant collarbone.
At the sound of the fabric rustling, Yan Nanjue lifted her eyes slightly. Her pupils dilated instantly.
Holy crap holy crap holy crap holy crap… what is Bai Wan doing?!!
“System, help!!!!”
This was not in the original plot! This was not the promised script! Why was Bai Wan unbuttoning her clothes? The next part of the plot was supposed to be signing the contract, agreeing to resign, and returning to the villa to be a trophy wife! Help, System! Help! Someone save me!!
“System!! System!!!!”
【System: Holy crap, what did you just say? Why did everything just get covered in mosaics on my end?】
Mosaics? She needed some too!!
【System: Say something! Stop screaming in your head!】
Yan Nanjue reached out without thinking, suddenly grabbing Bai Wan’s hand to stop her next move. She looked straight at Bai Wan with a cold, sharp gaze. “What are you doing?”
Before she could get an answer, a breathtaking scene suddenly burst into her vision from her bird’s-eye view. A row of six buttons; half were undone. The summer clothes were thin; Bai Wan only wore this long-sleeved light garment on top.
The skin beneath was as white as snow, like congealed bean curd, appearing almost translucent. Blood tinged the flesh with color, and blue veins moved like slithering snakes. The “snakes” held the scarlet forbidden fruit of Eden in their mouths, climbing slowly up from her wrists. Her soft body swayed, lightly brushing against her.
It was a vision of pure sensuality.
Yan Nanjue had seen it once before—a fleeting glimpse before she quickly wrapped her in a blanket. The blinds blocked the view from outside but also dimmed the light in the room; the day was overcast, making the shadows even more pronounced.
Her gaze was scorched. Yan Nanjue’s breathing stalled. Holding Bai Wan’s hand felt like holding magma; a heat and itchiness began to spread from the point of contact, boiling so fiercely she could barely hold on.
Help… Yan Nanjue had never wanted to run away more. What was the heroine doing?! Clearly, it was Bai Wan who was half-undressed, and the one taking off the clothes was acting calm, yet Yan Nanjue’s entire body was stiff, her heart and mind filled only with the urge to flee.
Yan Nanjue used all her might to suppress the urge to run. She forced her gaze to stay on Bai Wan’s face.
Wait… this scene looks more and more like I’m the one forcing her…
The more Yan Nanjue looked, the more it fit: she was the overbearing, paranoid, irrational CEO who didn’t respect people and only used money; Bai Wan was the “Little White Flower” struggling to survive and sacrificing herself to her enemy for her siblings.
But I didn’t! I didn’t ask the heroine to do this!
Bai Wan looked up at her, her pale pink lips moving as she said coldly, “Fulfilling the duties of being Mrs. Yan.”
Yan Nanjue: “…”
Who asked her to fulfill them?!
Can’t they just maintain their previous pure, non-physical relationship?! There’s no rule saying you have to sleep together after getting married! And this is a hospital! This is a patient’s room!
【System: Though what the heroine is doing is indeed terrifying… don’t you think what you’re saying is a bit too much like you’re throwing a tantrum?】
Yan Nanjue felt like she was blacking out. Let it be a tantrum then—it was better than the heroine continuing to undress… She was like a startled bird now, walking the next step with extreme caution, terrified the heroine would raise the Blackening Value again without a word.
When she didn’t speak for a long time, Bai Wan seemed to read something from her furrowed brow. She suddenly gripped her collar, took a deep breath, and smoothed out the crumpled fabric. Her voice was icy and carried a hint of unspeakable awkwardness.
“…Only a temporary mark.”
“My heat cycle is inconsistent. Last time it was early; the one in the second half of the year will likely be delayed until winter. Induced heat only leads to a pseudo-heat. Permanent marking will have to wait until winter.”
Yan Nanjue froze, a flash of confusion in her eyes. What is Bai Wan imagining? I haven’t said anything!
“Or do you not like the hospital room?”
In her few seconds of daze, Bai Wan spoke again, making Yan Nanjue’s breath hitch once more. She was suffocating. What had Bai Wan misunderstood?
Yan Nanjue gripped Bai Wan’s hand tightly. Her aura turned dark, and her eyes held a hint of gloom as she stared at the Omega.
“What do you think I want?”
“Besides an Omega’s body, I want you to be my dog. —Loyal, obedient, following only me. If I want you to die, you die; if I let you live, you live. I own and decide everything about you—your body, your soul, everything is mine.”
Bai Wan’s breathing hitched. Her beautiful features were as cold as frost, and her eyes seemed to hold a snowstorm that would never melt. Every flake of snow was a stored grain of hate.
Look how greedy Yan Nanjue is.
As she said, she was a profit-seeking businesswoman. Just the body wasn’t enough; she wanted to buy out her soul as well. Yan Nanjue was… truly something.
She had one more reason to hate Yan Nanjue. That burgeoning hatred filled the space between them as they leaned so close. Invisible threads wove a spiderweb; the more she wanted to flee, the closer she was pulled.
She had no reason not to hate Yan Nanjue.
“Do you understand, Mrs. Yan?” Yan Nanjue said. She didn’t give her a chance to answer; it was a notification, deciding her fate with ease.
“Now, button up and stand up. This is a hospital, Mrs. Yan.”
Yan Nanjue flung Bai Wan’s hand away. The force made Bai Wan’s leaning body tilt back; she braced herself on the floor with one hand, preventing a fall.
Yan Nanjue’s own hand was trembling out of sight.
She opened the heavy manila envelope and pulled out the documents prepared long ago: the surgery records, the heart donor info, and finally, a contract she had Lin Furuo prepare before coming—similar to the marriage contract, but with much harsher conditions. This contract would lock down Bai Wan’s entire life.
It didn’t really matter if there was a contract or not; Bai Wan couldn’t escape A-City, let alone her grasp. Yan Nanjue was just going through the motions to stabilize her “obsessive pervert Alpha” persona.
She placed the opened documents on the table, with the contract on top.
Yan Nanjue glanced at it, unconcerned. This contract was just a formality. Soon, Bai Wan’s biological parents would find her. The Yan Group’s power could oppress an orphan, but it couldn’t compete with a top-tier international conglomerate like theirs.
【System: She is the heroine, after all.】
The Yan Group’s power was only absolute in A-City. In front of Bai Wan’s biological parents, it would be a yacht meeting a 10,000-ton cargo ship—an incomparable difference.
“My patience is limited. Sign it, Mrs. Yan. You know what to do next.”
Bai Wan stared at her, her gaze heavy. Without even glancing at the contract, she turned to the last page and signed her name.
Yan Nanjue was the devil tempting people into hell. And she had handed her soul and body to the devil—including the fragments of “liking” that had fallen into the cracks and refused to be acknowledged.
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